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March 2018

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The government of Myanmar together with the ILO and the governments of the US, Japan and Denmark are jointly implementing the Initiative on Labour Law Reform and Institutional Capacity Building to improve labor rights and practices in Myanmar.

The governments held a Stakeholders Forum last month to bring together domestic and international stakeholders to discuss labor issues in Myanmar, identify priority challenges, share global experiences and support efforts to address the gaps.

Fashion majors H&M and Gap Inc which attended the forum said they sought collaboration with other stakeholders to support labor capacity building, worker rights and the advancement of the rule of law.

“We are committed to working with our suppliers and other stakeholders in Myanmar to secure continued progress towards the widespread implementation of global best practice so that the garment sector can play a meaningful and helpful role in Myanmar’s continued economic, social and democratic development,” the two companies said in a joint statement.

H&M and Gap said they welcomed Myanmar's commitment to the labor law reform process and encouraged its implementation based on the four core elements outlined by the ILO. The ILO stipulates that the law has to be comprehensive to cover all workers and leaves “no gaps”. The law also has to be accessible in that the law needs to be understood by all stakeholders, who need to be part of labour law drafting through a more inclusive process.

The law should be appropriate to the Myanmar context and consistent with international human rights and ILO conventions, and with the removal of all remaining inconsistencies among existing laws, the statement said.

In June 2014, Gap Inc. became the first American retailer to source from Myanmar while H&M placed test orders in Myanmar in 2013, started sourcing from a small number of units in 2014 and opened a production office in Yangon in early 2015. (SH)